The Value Creation Model Of Patent Market Intermediaries

In the era of knowledge economy, governments and entrepreneurs place importance on innovation and intellectual property gradually. Because of a shortened product of life cycle, increasing costs of R&D, many managers adopt the concept of open innovation. The market for patent licensing and monetization grows rapidly, as Open Innovation becomes the de facto management philosophy at more and more firms. Unfortunately, there are many obstacles while trading patents; therefore, patent intermediaries join the market. As the patent market grows, there is a diversity of patent intermediaries. However, studies about patent intermediaries are still lacking. Although a few studies mention patent intermediaries, they discuss how patent intermediaries run their business and what roles they play. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss what value patent intermediaries create in the patent market and how they do it. In this study, based on Amit and Zott’s (2001) value creation configuration, we discuss the value creation model of intermediaries for the patent market. We used a case study and expert interviews. We choose some representative patent intermediaries from abroad and in Taiwan. The interviewees are executives and directors in the organisations. The result appears that patent intermediaries provide integrated services to their clients. They create value based on four dimensions: efficiency, complementarities, lock-in, and novelty. Building a long-term relationship and trust with clients or members is the key success factors.